3/13/08

Reading the tea leaves

It’s all starting to make more sense, at least to me. The war with Iran is a virtual certainty.

First of all, Fallon said the war would not happen on his watch. After thinking and reading many takes on his resignation, I think the most likely conclusion is that the decision to go to war has been made. Since he wants no part of it, Fallon resigned.

Fallon’s characterization of Barnett’s article in Esquire as some kind of hit piece, though it was totally fawning, makes sense in one light. Figuring that Fallon’s dissent had been long under the radar, he has been able to forestall the war. By bringing it into the mainstream via Esquire, the Barnett piece forced the confrontation between Fallon and Bush, a confrontation which of course Fallon would lose. So in that sense, the decision to publish Barnett’s piece had a predictable consequence - Fallon would have to resign - and therefore it can be considered a hit piece.

Barnett, who is in all likelihood genuinely blown away by Fallon, served as a tool by higher authorities. And who are they? Esquire Magazine is owned by Hearst Corporation. The President and CEO of Hearst, Victor Ganzi’s name pops up on this list:

Victor Ganzi— president and CEO of Hearst Corporation since June 1, 2002; the Hearst publication, Popular Mechanics, has repeatedly tried to debunk the truth of 9-11

Mr. Giuliani, who was elected with a large share of the city’s Jewish vote, said he considered it important to establish a close personal relationship with Mr. Rabin. He said he also believed that as Mayor he should work to make sure that apartheid policies are ended in South Africa. He said he would seek Mayor David N. Dinkins’s advice on South Africa.

Mr. Giuliani also met yesterday with Senator Daniel Patrick Moynihan, a Democrat, and the two men pledged to work together despite partisan differences.

As Mr. Giuliani toured the city, two more people were added to his transition council: Evelyn King, the chief executive officer of the United Block Front Street Association in Harlem, and Victor F. Ganzi, senior vice president of the Hearst Corporation. Ms. King was one of the Republican-Liberal’s most active black supporters, and Mr. Ganzi, who lives on Long Island, contributed $6,500 to Mr. Giuliani’s campaign.

So it doesn’t seem like much of a stretch to me to conclude that the Barnett piece had a specific purpose: get Fallon out of the way. Check.

Similarly, this article (6 Signs the US May Be Headed for War in Iran) has been making the rounds, and it’s a good one. Much too good to come out of the corporate media, unless of course, it also has a specific purpose: to start getting the US population on board with the idea of another war. What makes it so remarkable is this nugget of inside information, an insight that seemed to have even escaped Sy Hersh. So who is this guy Terry Atlas who has better sources than Sy Hersh, and where did he come from all of a sudden? Does that strike anyone else as strange?

Israel’s airstrike deep in Syria last October was reported to have targeted a nuclear-related facility, but details have remained sketchy and some experts have been skeptical that Syria had a covert nuclear program. An alternative scenario floating in Israel and Lebanon is that the real purpose of the strike was to force Syria to switch on the targeting electronics for newly received Russian anti-aircraft defenses. The location of the strike is seen as on a likely flight path to Iran (also crossing the friendly Kurdish-controlled Northern Iraq), and knowing the electronic signatures of the defensive systems is necessary to reduce the risks for warplanes heading to targets in Iran.

That sure does make a lot of sense, as does the rest of the piece. Yeoman’s work by Terry Atlas, no? Or was he just handed that great tip by US News and World Report’s owner, Mort Zuckerman?

Mortimer Benjamin Zuckerman is a self-made American billionaire magazine editor, publisher, and real estate tycoon. He co-founded Boston Properties, Inc. in 1970; he is chairman of the board, and director. He is also the current Editor-in-Chief of “U.S. News & World Report” and the publisher/owner of the “New York Daily News” since 1993.

In 1980, Zucker acquired the literary magazine the “Atlantic Monthly”, where he was Chairman from 1980 to 1999. In addition to his publishing and real-estate interests, Zuckerman is also a sought-after commentator on world affairs and an active supporter of Israeli, Zionist and international Jewish causes.

I guess it’s safe to conclude that he would be for a war with Iran, since that’s what the Israelis want and he’s an active supporter of their causes.

Notice how this juicy piece advances that cause by bringing the analysis into the mainstream media and again, setting the propaganda wheels in motion. It’s happening just like last time. Bush, Cheney & Co. make the decision, and then they fit the facts around the policy. The corporate media presents the case to the people. Blocks are eliminated, and off we go to WW III.

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